I like many Queen fans prefer the heavier, early stuff in fact I don't think Queen made a consistently good studio album in the 80's and was disappointed with MIH, I think tracks like Love Kills, She Blows Hot and Cold and Hangman could have been worked better than stuff like winters tale and Made in heaven. My main point is that it was mainly Deacon and Freddie to a degree who drove Queen towards much of what some one on this forum called soul funk crap. Dance bollocks drenched in synths when at times the band moved so far away from their hard rockin (yet experimental roots, it worked with most other styles like on bo rhap, somebody to love but the soul funk thing got out of hand after aobtd. If Deacon had his way May would have been made redundant because Hot Space, pap like Rain Must Fall, You Don't fool me, are examples of Queen losing the plot on many 80's numbers. Deacon was a confessed soul and pop fan, in an interview with Mack he mentions that one of the band thinks they should be totally diffrent anyway, I suspect this member was Deacon because I can't think of one credible ROCK track that he wrote, he seemed to be pushing Queen towards that awful synths ham funk soul path post aobtd which to me made 80's albums overall weaker than the 70's stuff. I don't think Deacon's self imposed ommission in post freddie projects is any great loss, in fact he was wise to duck out of the awful pepsi, 5ive and Robbie Williams stuff which to me are the only mistakes Brian and Roger have made because the Paul Rodgers collaboration is terrific.

Although it isn't a great song but I think Need your loving tonight is a rock song. He also co-wrote Stone cald crazy.... And I don't agree with you with the other comments I think Freddy was also into exploring other styles that's why he want to do a solo record and I don''t think that there is one real rock song on Mr.Bad Guy (well the title track maybe). My main point is that the sum of all four personalities made the music of what it became so the loss of John Deacon is not something to just forget.

IMO one of the reasons QUEEN drew a wide audience was their diversity, and excellent musicianship, no matter how popular a band no music fan will like all the tracks they write or in most groups case songwriters contribute. John Deacon made an immense contribution to the Queen Brand, with some Killer tunes and Bass riffs, throwing in YMBF, IWTBF, AOBTD and 1 or 2 Rock numbers along the way.

I can't believe some people still don't realize that the whole intention of queen to be different over and over again and not to repeat themselves is exactly what made them last for so long! It takes balls to risk as much as they did from time to time in order to explore. Now I'm not a funk fan myself, but I much prefer the diversity in queen material to keeping the same style for 2 decades!!! And yes, JOHN DEACON R O C K S !!!

I agree that diversity was one of Queen's greatest strengths. They never wanted to cater to a specific genre, they wanted to create something uniquely their own, and having four completely different personalities in a band was a huge asset.

And John's dexterous playing was an inseparable part of the Queen sound, keeping the complex arrangements together, infusing the songs with life and energy. Many songs wouldn't quite work without his bass lines, like 39 and Under Pressure.

For all these reasons I feel John's departure was a true loss, but I respect his wish to retire and I hope he finds the peace and quiet he seeks.

I like many Queen fans prefer the heavier, early stuff in fact I don't think Queen made a consistently good studio album in the 80's and was disappointed with MIH, I think tracks like Love Kills, She Blows Hot and Cold and Hangman could have been worked better than stuff like winters tale and Made in heaven. My main point is that it was mainly Deacon and Freddie to a degree who drove Queen towards much of what some one on this forum called soul funk crap. Dance bollocks drenched in synths when at times the band moved so far away from their hard rockin (yet experimental roots, it worked with most other styles like on bo rhap, somebody to love but the soul funk thing got out of hand after aobtd. If Deacon had his way May would have been made redundant because Hot Space, pap like Rain Must Fall, You Don't fool me, are examples of Queen losing the plot on many 80's numbers. Deacon was a confessed soul and pop fan, in an interview with Mack he mentions that one of the band thinks they should be totally diffrent anyway, I suspect this member was Deacon because I can't think of one credible ROCK track that he wrote, he seemed to be pushing Queen towards that awful synths ham funk soul path post aobtd which to me made 80's albums overall weaker than the 70's stuff. I don't think Deacon's self imposed ommission in post freddie projects is any great loss, in fact he was wise to duck out of the awful pepsi, 5ive and Robbie Williams stuff which to me are the only mistakes Brian and Roger have made because the Paul Rodgers collaboration is terrific.

WOW what a sweeping statement to make. And crap imo. What about the possibility that Brian and Roger couldnt be bothered to write or just didnt have as many good rock songs as they did earlier in Queens career? Or maybe you only like rock music and cant stand all that soul / funk Hot Space type stuff they did?

Infact Brian himself contributed to Living A Box' "Blow The House Down", proving he wasnt actually adverse to playing this kind of stuff.

It was Roger who pushed the use of synthesizers. No matter who came up with the idea, it was still the option of the rest of the band to reject it. They didn't. It was a band decision, not a bad decision.

The whole reason why I LOVE Queen is because of their diversity. Every record was different, every song was different, and that was what kept me interested. They never get boring!!! Yes, I love the early heavy sound, but I love the poppy Disco-like tracks as well.

In my opinion, if John never joined the group, Queen would never have been around for us to love and enjoy. If it wasn't for John's AWESOME Bass playing, the songs wouldn't have had the punch and the guts that they have. If it wasn't for John's keen business sence and dedication for the group, Queen probably wouldn't have lasted as long as they did.

And for those of you who think John only wrote Disco Tracks, he wrote some pretty DAMN good rock tracks too. "If You Can't Beat em" and "Need Your Loving Tonight". "Spread Your Wings" and "Misfire". His collaboration on "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Hitman". John was an awesome writer where the songs came from the heart.

So, if you think John is no real loss, you're wrong. John is a BIG loss! I, as well as others, miss him dearly and in our hearts he's always there. I respect his descison to retire and I hope he's enjoying his rest, peace, and quiet!!!

I think tracks like Love Kills, She Blows Hot and Cold and Hangman could have been worked better than stuff like winters tale and Made in heaven.

So, you're saying they should have left out A Winter's Tale, the last song Freddie wrote, and one of the few songs that was actually new.

Russian Headlong wrote:

If Deacon had his way May would have been made redundant because Hot Space, pap like Rain Must Fall, You Don't fool me, are examples of Queen losing the plot on many 80's numbers.

Have you heard the guitar solo on You Don't Fool Me??

Russian Headlong wrote:

in an interview with Mack he mentions that one of the band thinks they should be totally diffrent anyway, I suspect this member was Deacon

and I suspect Mack was referring to Brian. Brian was the only one who thought Queen should stick to hard rock and wrote ROCK songs at that period. Just listen to The Works. It's easy to spot Brian's songs on that album while the other three were all writing more pop-oriented songs.

August R. I have to disagree, Personallly I hate soul and dance music, I didn't mind most of Queens experiments (opera, folk, prog, vaudeville) but in the 80's post AOBTD Deacon tried to drastically steer the band into that kind of sound which personally I loathe, just my taste but lots of post AOBTD albums are overloaded with pop trash. Is it any coincidence that apart from YMBF off ANATO no Deacon song was that well known (i.e single) because his tastes were much poppier, up until AOBTD because up until its realise Queen were still a hard rock band who experimented. In the 80's they became more of a pop band who would occasionally go back to their hard rockin roots.

I do think it was he not May was referring to because he was the one who had always been a fan of soul/funk when the other three had harder influences such as Led Zep, Hendrix, The Who etc while Deacon in all his bios was in to motown etc.

Queen never had that soul/funky sound on the first 7 records. why? because John Deacon's song input was very small up until AOBTD which opened them up to another set of fans, but peed off another set in a similar way to I was made for loving you upset Kiss diehards when it ame out aimed at the disco market.

What happened was a compromise, Queen won new pop fans in the 80's but lost many of their original fans. I still do not think because Winters tale was freddie's last song it was good, its not in my view, it's rubbish like lots of Fred's solo stuff who also got into a lot of disco proabaly from all the types of clubs he used to frequent in the early to mid eighties. You don't fool me may have a great solo but the song as a whole (imo)is just dance pap like Invisible Man which is similar great solo, rest of the song is pish.

No Queen would not be as popular and eclectic band if not for their forays into such stuff, but for me I have to skip tracks in many of the 80's albums where as up to Live Killers, maybe the Game I found the whole album wonderful to listen to. I love Classic Rock/Metal and Queen along with the likes of AC/DC, KISS are my favourite all time bands each one a killer live act. I take on board what you say but maintain John Deacon was better suited for a funk band rather than a Rock band, just from his main song writing styles.

The whole reason why I LOVE Queen is because of their diversity. Every record was different, every song was different, and that was what kept me interested. They never get boring!!! Yes, I love the early heavy sound, but I love the poppy Disco-like tracks as well.

In my opinion, if John never joined the group, Queen would never have been around for us to love and enjoy. If it wasn't for John's AWESOME Bass playing, the songs wouldn't have had the punch and the guts that they have. If it wasn't for John's keen business sence and dedication for the group, Queen probably wouldn't have lasted as long as they did.

And for those of you who think John only wrote Disco Tracks, he wrote some pretty DAMN good rock tracks too. "If You Can't Beat em" and "Need Your Loving Tonight". "Spread Your Wings" and "Misfire". His collaboration on "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Hitman". John was an awesome writer where the songs came from the heart.

So, if you think John is no real loss, you're wrong. John is a BIG loss! I, as well as others, miss him dearly and in our hearts he's always there. I respect his descison to retire and I hope he's enjoying his rest, peace, and quiet!!!

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOHN RICHARD DEACON IS A HUMONGOUS LOSS! I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAY! we should be friends :D

but in the 80's post AOBTD Deacon tried to drastically steer the band into that kind of sound which personally I loathe, just my taste but lots of post AOBTD albums are overloaded with pop trash.

You really think that John had that much control in the band? He was hardly the musical director in the band. Sure, they all made some funk/disco experiments after the succes of AOBTD, but after Hot Space the experiments were over. On The Works they just decided to play it safe and that's why the album is more pop-orinented. But you really can't blame John for their new style. Freddie wanted to write disco/pop songs as well. Or do you think that John forced Freddie to write a solo album (Mr Bad Guy) full of disco crap as well?

I just don't think you can blame John for writing a big hit. AOBTD didn't need to change Queen's career, but the guys got greedy and wanted to change their style and write only hits.

Russian Headlong wrote:

I still do not think because Winters tale was freddie's last song it was good,

No, it doesn't make it a good song, but the reason MIH got released at all was that they had a couple of unreleased songs Freddie had recorded in his last months. You were saying that they should have released re-makes of old material instead. Do you really think we needed another version of Love Kills?

Russian Headlong wrote:

You don't fool me may have a great solo but the song as a whole (imo)is just dance pap

Your original arguement was that Brian was made redundant because of songs like YDFM. I was merely pointing out that this was not necessarily the case. YDFM has a great guitar solo by Brian, even if it's dance pap.